Sir David Phillips was awarded the Queen's Police Medal in 1994

Sir David Phillips announced he was stepping down in February.

He has left to take over as head of the Centre for Policing Excellence, a national police agency.

Sir David has been with the police for more than 40 years and worked his way through the ranks with the Lancashire and Greater Manchester forces.

Pioneer of policing techniques

He then moved to join Devon and Cornwall police before becoming Kent's Chief Constable in 1993.

Since his appointment as the head of the Kent force he has pioneered several new policing techniques.

These include intelligence-led policing which has now been adopted nationwide.

In 1994 he was awarded the Queen's Police Medal.

Deputy Chief Constable Robert Ayling will now takes over the post having been Sir David's second-in-command since 1996.